Jean-Michel Basquiat
‘Fast and furious’ well describes the life and work of Jean-Michel Basquiat. He was part and parcel of the downtown New York art scene during the 1980s and came to be known as one of that decade’s neo-expressionist artists along with Julian Schnabel and Eric Fischl. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1960, Basquiat dropped out of high school and with his classmate Al Diaz, began spray painting graffiti in lower Manhattan. He signed with the tag ‘SAMO’ (same old shit) and the messages were often combinations of indecipherable symbols and cryptic yet poetic phrases - “SAMO as an escape clause”. While living on the street or with friends, Basquiat sold handmade postcards and shirts, and played guitar in a band called Grey. By around 1980 Basquiat had succeeded in getting himself noticed by influential people in the New York art community, and his exhibited work in the 1981 New York/New Wave show opened doors rapidly. The art dealer Bruno Bischofberger took on Basquiat’s work in Europe and Annina Nosei brought him on as an artist in her SoHo gallery. He created a prodigious amount of art and by the time he was 24 his paintings and collages were selling for tens of thousands of dollars. At the same time, his heroin addiction accelerated as did his spending on parties, designer clothing and other luxury goods. Around 1983 he began collaborating with Andy Warhol, who is said to have served as a moderating influence on his lifestyle. Their connection faltered after a couple of years, but they maintained a relationship until Warhol’s death in 1987. Basquiat continued to produce and show work in the U.S. and Europe, but on August 12, 1988 he died of a drug overdose in New York.
